You Ate What?

Straight from a library shelf to your kitchen! You will love recipes like chicken cacciatore with prunes or a molded apple blue cheese salad. I am sure your mouth is watering from all of these wonderful foods. As a child of the 1960s, I can say that no fancy meal would be complete without a jello mold with fruit cocktail.

I know that future generations might need to stroll down a gastronomic memory lane, but does it have to be this cookbook? It’s a bit embarrassing. For those that love the truly awful in cooking, may I direct your attention to Retro Recipe or James Lilek’s Gallery of Regrettable Food. You won’t be disappointed, but you will feel a bit nauseated.

Naturally, every library has its share of diet/health books. They go in and out of fashion more than, well, fashion. This book takes the extra added bonus of blaming Satan. Evidently Satan sits on the Hellmouth with a big plate of cookies tempting all of us into the abyss of fat and calories. One of the big ideas in this book is about fasting. Obviously not a new concept in religious practice. However, the advice about fasting is a little too cavelier about a doctor’s advice. He doesn’t even mention particular health issues where fasting might be problematic.

Well now I am thinking that maybe Hell has a better buffet than Heaven.

Submitter: This book is clearly meant to be humorous, but it was shelved right in the middle of the diet books and cook books. It does contain some interesting facts and trivia about various types of junk food, but even that information is dated. At the very least, this book should be shelved with humorous books; at best it should be weeded.

Holly: I can see why it’s technically cataloged under “junk food,” which is technically 613.2, but I say go for broke and re-catalog it to the 800s in humor. Be brave! The library police only go after nickel fines, not renegade catalogers.

This book is kind of fun! See if it circulates better over in the 800s, and a year from now weed it if it hasn’t. However, if you’re strapped for space, it can probably be weeded without any ill effects. I do like the “Effective trick or treating techniques” offered on the back cover, though!